Analysis Of Swallow The Sun

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In this chapter the lyrics of Swallow the Sun chosen for this study are analyzed. The lyrics of Swallow the Sun’s triple album Songs from the North was chosen as the material for the thesis. The lyrics are written in English apart from the chorus of the title track “Songs from the North”. The aim of the thesis is to study melancholy in Swallow the Sun’s lyrics through the themes of longing, loss, and despair. The analysis will answer the following question: How is melancholy represented in the lyrics chosen? The thesis started off with a close reading of the material, and according to the first impression the song lyrics were separated into three main themes. The triple album contains nineteen song lyrics. The different representational themes that were identified are 1) longing, 2) loss and 3) despair. The themes are by no means exclusive to each other as they overlap and circle around each other. In addition, notions of time and memory run throughout the lyrics, and also instances such as nostalgia, love, and death were frequently observed. Swallow the Sun’s lyrics seem to have continuity between them, thus connecting the three albums through lyrical content. According to the band’s drummer Juuso Raatikainen (The Metalist 2016), the musical part separates the albums into three parts, whereas the lyrical themes unite the albums. Juha Raivio draws inspirations for writing music and lyrics from his own life in which he has experienced “so much love and loss, good and bad”

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